The Green Bay Packers left Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions angry about the officiating, and that frustration spilled well beyond the locker room.
In a video posted by Matt Scheidman of The Athletic, safety Xavier McKinney said he would rather risk a fine from the NFL than sit back and watch his team get hurt by what he sees as poor officiating. Fox broadcaster Tom Brady also took issue with some of the calls, saying Green Bay should not have been called for roughing the passer.
The penalty count told part of the story. Detroit was flagged five times for 50 yards, while the Packers were hit with eight penalties for 81 yards.
The controversy kept building on social media, where plenty of fans were already unhappy with the way the game was officiated. Then the NFL tossed fuel on the fire, posting a video of Lions players dancing after Green Bay defensive lineman Karl Brooks was called for offsides. That penalty gave Detroit a first down with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
“Did we miss somebody?” the league wrote in the caption, followed by a grinning face with sweat emoji.
The post landed like a jab at the Packers, the kind of taunt the league would almost certainly flag if it came from a player. Fans wasted no time piling on in the replies.
“Yeah you missed 8 taunting penalties,” wrote one fan who believed the Lions should have been penalized.
“This post will stay up and there will never be an explanation or apology. It’s annoying,” another posted.
“How is this not a penalty!? How are you promoting this!?
You are a complete joke of an organization!” one commenter wrote.
“Saving this tweet so I can send it to people when they ask why I stopped watching football,” another fan said.
“Yeah…..your officials made up some calls today in this game,” a fan argued. “Better start looking at your officiating crews. NBA had a problem and now the NFL appears to have a problem.”
In Other News...
Packers Coach Weighed In On The Lions Penalty Controversy
The Packers 20-17 loss to the Lions came with plenty of extra attention on the officials, as Green Bay was flagged repeatedly and Detroit was handed 81 free yards in a game that stayed tight throughout. Matt LaFleur did not hide his frustration afterward, especially with one roughing-the-passer call, but he also stopped short of turning his postgame availability into a full-scale attack on the officiating.
LaFleur made clear he wanted the focus to shift quickly from the calls to the loss itself, saying the Packers need to move on and get ready for their next game against the Carolina Panthers. For Detroit, it was the kind of divisional win that can linger with the opponent long after the final whistle, especially when the games most debated moments keep coming back into the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Campbell Defended The Lions Gamble That Nearly Backfired Vs Packers
Late in the fourth quarter of Detroits Week 7 matchup with Green Bay, Dan Campbell made the kind of call that defines the way the Lions want to play. With the game tied and under five minutes left, he kept the offense on the field for a fourth-and-1 at his own 24-yard line instead of punting, a decision that raised eyebrows in the moment when the conversion came up short and handed the Packers a short field.
Campbell didnt back away from it afterward. He said he believed Detroit would get the first down and, even if it didnt, the defense would be able to get the ball back, and the sequence played out in a way that preserved his logic. The Packers failed to cash in on the field-position gift, the Lions were able to survive the scare, and the game still came down to a last-second field goal. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Got A Huge Late-Game Break From An Unexpected Defender
Late in the fourth quarter, the Lions got a break from an unlikely source when defensive tackle DJ Wonnum got a hand on Green Bay kicker Trey Smacks 35-yard field-goal attempt. The deflection sent the kick wide and kept the score tied, a crucial swing in a game that had turned into the kind of tense, late-season grind Detroit has seen plenty of by now.
The play mattered because it kept Green Bay from seizing the lead in a game the Lions would later win 20-17. It also slipped past a lot of the locker room in real time, with several teammates not realizing Wonnum had been the one to alter the kick until after the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]